Muojeke Family Case History Mr. Muojeke, the boys father, died in 2006. Mrs. Muojeke, as a widow, became the property of her husband’s brother, as is the custom. She was seriously mistreated by that brother and the rest of the family. Mrs. Muojeke fled to Ireland in 2007 with her two boys, one 2 year old and one 7 year old. Vulnerable and very afraid, they lived in a hostel in the Direct Provision System in Dublin before being moved to Co. Laois. The family applied for asylum based on the horrific treatment of Mrs. Muojeke and her two children. This was turned down in 2009. Mrs. Muojeke requested the solicitor on the case to file an appeal within the 15 days allowed. He did not do so. A Deportation Order was then issued and the family moved to Tullamore where Mrs. Muojeke continued to engage by trying to get her file back from the original solicitor. After a very long time she succeeded and, finally, Mr. John Gerard Cullen took up her case and appealed to the Minister of Justice in 2015. The Minister did not reply at first for more than a year. The Minister then refused Humanitarian Leave to remain in 2017. The reasons given included that the older boy will settle well if returned to Nigeria as he settled well, aged 7, when he came to Ireland. Also, it was stated that the severe mental trauma suffered by the children is not a ground for granting Humanitarian Leave to remain. The issue of the best interests of the children was not considered a relevant matter. Both boys identify totally with being Irish, neither speaks any Nigerian dialect and has no cultural awareness of that country whatsoever. Why is this case unique? The boys have been here since they were very young children and have been brought up as active Irish members of their community Their mother has always sought to engage with the Authorities They are excellent young persons (one is still a fourteen year old child) who are making, and want to make, a positive contribution to this society The Irish Constitutional guarantee on the best interests and rights of children is not empty rhetoric; and it must be honoured. What next? Minister Charles Flanagan has the power to grant “Leave to Remain” to these boys. Please go to the following: [email protected] and add your email address to the petition. Please email the Minister and the Taoiseach ([email protected] and [email protected] pledging support to the children’s right to life and education here in their country

Ireland needs to unlock the current suppressed potential for cycling — transport, mental and physical health, and environmental benefits, and also more wide-ranging positives of mass cycling. These wider benefits include giving teenagers and parents freedom from the parent taxi; freeing many people across the country from the restrictive options of driving or depending on infrequent public transport; and supporting “last mile” trips to high-quality public transport.

The Housing Crisis is a countrywide problem that has reached epidemic proportions. In January 2018, over 9,500 individuals were struggling to survive in State-funded emergency accommodation, 184 individuals were sleeping rough in the winter of 2017 in Dublin and almost 100,000 people are on social housing lists. An ongoing issue, successive governments have failed to act. There are a number of issues underlying this problem, which affects vulnerable groups in various ways, including Travellers, asylum seekers, refugees and survivors of domestic abuse . A system-level change is required. To begin with, rent and property taxes must accord with the Housing Assistance Payment Scheme (HAP) and local authorities need to spend the funding allocated to investment in culturally appropriate housing for Travellers. People Before Profit outline a number of remedies, such as delimiting the right to private property and investing the capital from employment creation in social housing. Please sign this petition calling on The Housing Minister, Eoghan Murphy TD, to implement such practical and sustainable solutions to address this problem.

The Housing Crisis is a countrywide problem that has reached epidemic proportions. The Housing Minister needs to implement practical and sustainable solutions to address this problem.

It is important to help to counter the continuing violence against and ethnic cleansing of Palestine by Israel.

Aer Lingus currently sends all waste to landfill - at least two bags per flight per day. Why not separate cardboard and paper? Better still, why not use compostable cups, cutlery and trays? Set an example for our beautiful green country.

The women of Ireland have been let down. 18 women have died and 209 women have been identified as being impacted by the failure of the HSE to inform them of the audit of their cervical smear test results. We are calling for action. The reasons we are doing this: We are strongest standing together. Standing for Vicky, for Emma, for Irene, for Catherine, for Orla, for Julie, for Rosie, for Debbie, for Ann, for Carol, for all the other people who are coming forward every day, for all 18, for all 209.

We need to normalise cycling as a commuter choice. An announcement such as this, coming from a motoring organisation such as AA Roadwatch, could also help to ease the "them and us" mentality that exists at the moment between motorists and cyclists, while at the same time highlighting one of the many benefits of commuting by bike. Getting more people to commute by bike will benefit all other road users as it will lead to less congestion in our cities and towns. Cycle commuting also has the potential, long term, of saving millions of Euro for the health services, both because of the improved air quality and the fact that studies continually show, people who commute by bike are healthier than the general population. And there is safety in numbers: the more people that choose to cycle as their preferred commuting method, the safer it gets.

The housing crisis is now worse than at any point in the state’s history - 10,000 Homeless (1,739 Homeless Families – 3, 755 Homeless Children) - Average Rents Across Dublin = €1,614 - Government subsidies to landlords in 2017 = over €623k - 600,000 young people stuck at home, unable to access housing according to last census It was recently reported that there is enough state owned land (local authority and NAMA) zoned for residential development to build over 110,000 units https://www.irishtimes.com/…/state-owns-enough-zoned-land-t… Yet what has Dublin City Council's approach been to the development of the land it owns? In the case of the Lawrence Lands (Oscar Traynor Rd) they plan to mostly privatised the site with developers being invited to construct all 600 plus units but keep 70% for themselves (50% purely for profit and 20% for an undefined ‘affordable’ rent) with just the remaining 30% for public housing. At this rate we will never house those on the housing list as well as the hundreds of thousands who cannot even apply for public housing let alone the additional demand the arises year on year. Rather than waiting for similar bad proposals for other council owned sites the initiative should be taken by housing campaigners and public representatives to propose how best public land can be used to help resolve the crisis. Solidarity's alternative proposal for Belcamp Lane/Northern Cross Local Solidarity Councillor Michael O'Brien is proposing an alternative approach across the state where public housing (social and affordable) is built on publicly owned land. Take the Belcamp Lane site at Northern Cross which is council owned but where there are no plans on the horizon to build housing. Solidarity proposes that some 500 apartments and duplexes, similar in design to Newtown Court could be built and made available for 50% social and 50% affordable housing to local people with a housing need. This would be financed through the Social Housing Investment Fund. Accommodation meeting the needs of the local Traveller community could also be delivered on this site. Cllr O'Brien engaged the voluntary services of an architect to come up with an indicated site plan which shows what could be done. In this plan there are - the are 119 units on each floor (i.e. 4 floors = 476 units, allowing for duplexes). - the 3 beds are 100m2, the 2 beds are 81m2, the studios are 45.5m2 (a duplex would be two studios one on top of the other). - all units (except at the north of the site) are accessed from the north and have southeast or southwest facing balconies, and share south facing gardens (the public open space is mostly divided up between the units in this way). - there are pedestrian routes connecting the blocks, so that some of the ground floor plans will be different to allow for this This is not a fixed proposal set in stone but a vision of what can be done. If community support can be built up for this proposal, taking on board further suggestions and amendments this plan will be brought to Dublin City Council's North Central Area Committee and Housing Special Policy Committee with a view to securing the support from other councillors and putting the ball in the court of the Council officials to seriously engage. Check out https://www.facebook.com/PublicHousingBelcampNorthernX/ for the progress of the campaign

We want people to be able to enjoy Dublin City Centre without the hustle and bustle of motor vehicles. By creating just a few car-free streets every Sunday we could enable people of all ages and abilities to walk, cycle and enjoy themselves in the heart of Dublin City. Car-Free Sundays have been trialled successfully in cities around the globe including Paris, Mexico and Singapore. The 'Paris Sans Voitures' (Paris Without Cars) initiative was started by the city's Mayor to tackle chronic air pollution. The first car-free day in Paris resulted in a 40% drop in air pollution and a 50% fall in noise pollution. Each year in Ireland, up to 1,600 premature deaths are linked to air pollution, with motor vehicle emissions making up a substantial proportion of that pollution. The Car-Free Sunday concept can also be combined with free public transport for the day to encourage people to leave their cars at home. A large-scale switch to public transport, or to cycling and walking, could ease congestion in Dublin and improve the city for everyone. We are calling on Dublin City Council to realise the potential of Car-Free Sundays and to begin trials of the concept in the summer of 2018.

It wrecks lives, you just cannot give IQ tests to mentally unwell patients. The best analogy is telling someone to run a race with a broken ankle. Please help stop this abuse.

It would be a shame to knock this historic building which has a great social history. This building was an integral part of the Market Square with everything being weighed there corn , potatoes and even the goose or turkey at Christmas. The shelter was done up in the early nineties under an urban renewal scheme. This shelter is being used everyday by local people to sit and rest in and for people waiting for the community bus. If this development was to be replaced with it's an open air development. It would be open to all the elements. This would be better suited to a warmer climate not where it rains two hundred and fifty days a year. The shelter should be left there. Save The Shelter.